Jan Bedell

Jan Bedell, an educator and Certified Neurodevelopmentalist, began her professional life with a love for little children and a deep desire to give them the best academic start possible. She focused on early development in her course of study and looked forward to teaching kindergarten. She recalls having a child or two in her classroom who were very bright, yet would know facts one day and the next (as she says) “they were like a cow at a new gate!” She still remembers how diligently she worked and how frustrating were some of those days. If only she had known then what she now knows. Today, Jan’s mantra is: “What the future holds is not predetermined or preset ~ what the future holds is based on specific opportunities presented to the child or individual. When something different is done for the child’s brain development, the results can be entirely different – irrespective of their IQ.”

Little did Jan know, in those early years, how life would test her personally, spiritually, and professionally. Never would she have guessed her firstborn daughter, Jenee’ would arrive as a mentally challenged little girl. She struggled fifteen disappointing years trying various programs, techniques, and homework through public and private schools, as well as, home school. Their lives changed when they were introduced to The Neurodevelopmental (ND) Approach. Jan learned the brain had great plasticity. By using specific brain stimulation frequently, with intensity, and short duration, a life could forever be changed. She discovered a child who was struggling with academic work, could experience success when the neuro-pathways were strengthened and information processing became efficient. The life lessons of a desperate mom became a professional calling.

Jan’s mission is best described in her own words, “I’m especially drawn to children who are ‘falling through the cracks’. Children with learning inefficiencies struggle unduly, acquire low self-esteem, rebel, drop out of school and populate our prisons, leaving families anguished and torn apart. My deepest heartaches have been the struggles of thousands of my clients dealing with special needs issues while my greatest joys emanate from the answers the ND Approach can bring.”

“The ND Approach is very eclectic and takes into consideration the whole child, assessing nine levels of six developmental areas: auditory, visual, tactility, mobility, language, and manual function. Far from static in its methodologies, the ND Approach trains professionals and parents in ways to use the brain’s plasticity to further the child’s functional abilities. Can you imagine my excitement when my clients, after being medicated for years for ADD, complete a year of ND activities and then no longer need the drugs in order to function? What a thrill to see children with a diagnosis of dyslexia from a well known institution, being free of all symptoms in 12-18 months! These same children who usually require remediation for life are advancing academically one year every 4 months in math and reading. It has been my privilege to see that their first report didn’t have to be their final report.”

Thus, as a Neurodevelopmentalist, Jan brings hope to parents for their child’s future with the knowledge and skill she imparts on a daily basis. Today, thousands of families celebrate her choice and The Neurodevelopmental Approach.